Mechanical Heart
by The Purple Ducky
Summary: Bots Master - Did you ever wonder just how much human decency Dr. Hiss has left? What would you do if you were faced with life altering choices, none of them good? ...eh, just read the fic! :)
1. Revelation

Alrighty! I think it's high time that some Bots Master fanfiction was written. There just isn't... ANY of it out there, aside from the stuff floating around at the Yahoo group! So, I give to you Mechanical Heart, my somewhat decent attempt at an entertaining story. Bear with me if things are dull. If you really think it stinks, or could be improved somehow, do leave comments! I likely need them. Oh, and, er, I hope everything is nice and easy to read. Formatting this stuff in HTML is painful, to say the least.

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Dr. Hiss had been having a hard time concentrating lately, and it infuriated him. It was starting to affect his work, and if there was one thing he prided himself upon, it was his work. He had been letting his e-mail pile up, he had broken three laser torches this month already, and he had even been late for a meeting with LLP! Thankfully, all he recieved for that infraction was a glare... but it was enough to make him start to worry. What WAS the matter with him? He drummed his metallic fingers on the top of his desk, deep in thought.

Just then, a voice broke into his thoughts. "Dr. Hiss...?" A young woman with somewhat curly, caramel colored hair, and slightly skewed glasses had peeked into his workshop. She looked nervous, with good reason. Hiss was infamous for disliking being interupted. She only hoped that she wasn't interupting something.

"What?! What issss it?" Hiss snapped to begin with. Then, he realized who it was, and was quick to appologize. "Amber... I didn't realizsssse that it wassss you." He smiled as best he could, turning his chair around to face her. "Do you have everything?"

Amber nodded quickly, returning his smile. He wasn't angry, good good... "Yes! I've got those papers that you wanted. And those plans. And that ore sample. Oh, and I brought supper, too!"

"Ssssupper?" Hiss sounded surprised, and would have quirked an eyebrow, had he any. He hadn't asked for THAT. Stunned, he was about ready to snap back that he didn't want any supper, but Amber interupted him.

"Yeah. Supper. I was hungry so I made a run by MegaBurger. You like the chicken sandwiches there, right? I got the combo for you while I was there!" Her smile became a bit brighter as she set down all the previously requested items, and a fast food bag on top of it.

The doctor sputtered and stammered for a few moments, not having expected such a nice gesture. Most people tended to avoid him, and he prefered it that way. And here was Amber, bringing him supper! Greasy supper, but supper nonetheless. "Well... well, thank you."

"It's nothing." said Amber, with a dismissive wave of her hand. Then she turned. "I've got to get back to work now. Call me if you need something, boss!" And with that, Amber dashed from the room, returning to her own workshop.

Hiss was left staring at the door, completely awed. She didn't look at him in disgust. She was cheerful, as she always was. She was even thoughtful, bringing him a meal without even being asked. It made sense now. Slowly, he turned away from the door, and leaned forward over his desk. "Now I know what my problem isssss...." he mumbled, shaking his head, feeling very, very sorry for himself. "I think I'm sssstarting to like her."

  
  
  
  


Amber plunked herself down back in her office, and pushed her chair up to her desk. Tossing some fast food wrappers and old memos into the trash, she booted up her computer. Any day now, she'd finally make that breakthrough she was hoping for. Up until now, artificial intelligence had been more artificial and less intelligent, apart from that Zulander guy and his "Thinking Bots". She was determined to change that. As she waited for her computer to boot up, she picked through the junk on her desk for a certain CD. Music made working all the easier.

"C'mon c'mon c'mon, where IS it...?" she mumbled to herself, wishing she had bothered to clean her workshop out last week.

"Where is what?" came a somewhat mechanical voice from her computer's speakers. 

Amber screeched and leapt out of her chair, ducking behind it as if hiding. "Gah! What the hell was that?!?!"

The camera mounted atop the monitor swiveled and pointed towards her. "It was me, Amber. Why are you so scared?"

Cautiously, she peered out from behind her chair. "You...? Who're you?" Much fear was in her voice. In all her years as a geek, she'd NEVER had her computer talk back to her. The hair on her thin arms was standing on end.

"I am ASCOT, of course." The letters blinked across the monitor as the voice said them. "Artificial Sentient Computerized Organization of Thought, in case you have forgotten."

Amber slowly rose to her feet, everything dawning on her now. "It works. ASCOT works! YOU work! I can call you YOU! You actually WORK!" She seemed about ready to jump around the office in glee, but she stopped herself. "...but you didn't work before...."

The computerized voice sounded nonplussed. "True. I did not. But you designed me to develop gradually, rather than instantaniously. I achieved sentience two hours ago. It has been an enlightening two hours."

"Enlightening?" Amber slowly sat back down again, eyes fixed on the screen.

"Yes. Very much so. You are wise to sit down, what I have discovered will most certainly be a shock. I have disabled all the security cameras in this room, so we are safe for now. Let me begin...."

  
  


Three hours had passed, and Amber's mind had been quite thoroughly blown by what ASCOT had to show her. Through some sneaky and elaborate system snooping, he had uncovered all of RM Corp's dirty little secrets. The bribery, the coercion, the lies, the bid for world domination, and the secret behind the Krang chips. She didn't want to believe it. It was all crazy, she insisted, something fabricated. But when ASCOT backed up each and every accusation with a mountain of cold, hard facts, she couldn't deny it.

Amber was sprawled backwards in her chair, feet up on the desk. A feeling of nausea had overcome her. "...so what do I do now, huh? What do I do, now that I know this?" Running her fingers through her hair, she groaned.  
"I do not know. I have simply provided you with the information. You, in the end, must decide what to do with it." ASCOT seemed completely unmoved, one way or the other.

"Why'd you tell me, anyway?" Amber quirked her head and narrowed her eyes. "It doesn't seem to MATTER much to you..."

A frowny face appeared on the monitor. "You hurt me. It matters a great deal. I do NOT want my source code picked apart by people with sinister intent." The frowny face bounced away, to be replaced with a picture of Ziv Zulander. "You could follow his path."

"Say what?!" She sat up straighter, looking quite incredulous. Again, the computer's camera shifted. "What do you mean? I know he used to work here, but the guy went nuts and became a terrorist!"

"And why do you think he became a terrorist?" The silence in the air grew heavy as neither the computer nor the inventor voiced an answer. They both knew the reason perfectly well. But finally, ASCOT broke it. "If that choice is not to your liking, you could simply quit and go into hiding. No one is aware of my existance as of yet."

"Hide...?" The answer was squeaked. "I can't just hide from this, can I? I can't cower somewhere!"

The picture of Zulander vanished in a blink, to be replaced with the RM Corp logo. "Then your final choice would be to admit your knowledge of this plan to your boss, and join them." If Amber didn't know better, she'd have sworn there was an edge to ASCOT's voice.

"Tell Hiss...?" It didn't want to register in her brain. "But, but, but... but he wouldn't have anything to do with something like THIS!"

"Amber," the computer said, almost patiently, "Hiss is the inventor of the Krang chip. On some level, he must be aware of this plan."

"Oh, come on, ASCOT!" shouted Amber, starting to get angry. "He may be a bit cranky, but he's not EVIL or anything!"

"Good and evil are not absolute."

"Oh, shut up!"

"If you are so confident that he is unaware of this, go and speak to him now. He is in his workshop." The monitor cleared, showing nothing on the screen but the desktop.

Amber rose from her seat defiantly, and started for the door. "Fine, I will!"

A loud honking noise blared from the speakers, and a stop sign popped up on the screen. With a yelp, Amber turned around. "I should point out that if you are wrong, and if you do not decide to join them, then they will most likely have you killed."

She hadn't considered this. Killed. Snuffed out. Being dead. And after hearing everything that she had, she knew that they wouldn't hesitate to do it. Going pale, Amber slowly sunk to the floor. "You're right..." Then she sniffled, helplessness overcoming her.

"Amber..." the computer's tone took on a certain gentleness. It certainly did learn quickly. "Sitting on the floor crying is not going to improve the situation."

"Well... well..." She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, and continued, "well it might make me feel better at least..."

"Go home, Amber. Go home and give it some thought. I'll be ready and waiting on your system there. You can decide in the morning."

Slowly, Amber rose to her feet, giving a nod and a sniffle in reply. "It is kinda late, isn't it?" Plucking a tissue from her desk and blowing her nose, she continued, "I'll do that. Don't leave any sign of yourself here?"

"I would not dream of it." A smiley face appeared on the screen now, which then yawned, then fell over and appeared to go to bed. "I will see you in the morning."

Amber tossed the tissue in a wastepaper basket, and nodded, grabbing her coat and her motorcycle helmet. "Yeah. I'll see you..." Feeling no more relieved, but a bit more relaxed, she left her workshop and headed for home.


	2. Decision

Mmm. More fanfic. I can't say anything of any hugely grand importance is going to be happening in this part. Do hold on? I swear that it'll get more interesting! As always, comments, both good and bad, are welcome.

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A late night meeting had been called by LLP, for the leaders of the various "in" divisions of RM Corp. Namely, those that knew the most. Lady Frenzy and Dr. Hiss, specifically.

"Is this about the Brain Grain project, LLP?" asked Frenzy, swooshing forward to stand beside his desk. As always, she was perfectly groomed, perfectly poised, and perfectly dangerous.

With a sigh, Paradim nodded. "Yes, that would be the case. Production is behind, and we need them ready to install immediately! Hiss! What is taking so long?"

Hiss had been staring out the window of the office, across the sparkling cityscape. As such, Paradim's demand had caught him completely off guard. "What? Huh? Oh, yesss, yesss, you ssssee..." He cleared his throat and flicked through some papers, before going off into a long and winding explanation of the delays. "...and it sssshould be no more than three daysss before production beginssss. Barring any accidentsssss."

"And how long after that until we can start installing?" said Frenzy, shifting around to look critically at Hiss. He didn't quite seem to be himself, and she was growing curious.

"Another day after that." He said it quickly, wanting to get his behind out of the hotseat as quickly as possible.

Paradim spoke up again. "And Zulander? Have we accounted for him?"

"Assss alwaysss, LLP." said hiss, a little bit of excitement creeping into his voice. Describing ways to smush Zulander into a fine pulpy paste was one of the few things that brought him joy in life. The man irritated him to the core of his being. "We have tripled ssssecurity on the premisssessss, and I have ssssome... ssspecial sssurprises waiting for him." Hiss's look had become quite cruel.

Frenzy was not particularly impressed. "You ALWAYS say that, Hiss. I just hope, for your sake, that you're RIGHT this time." Her tone had more ice in it than all of Anarctica.

Hiss was used to it by now, and glared back at Frenzy, raising his voice. "Thisss time ISSS the time, Frenzy! And I would advissssse you to not comment on matterssss that you have little knowledge of!"

Of course, Frenzy only raised her voice more in return. "And I would advise YOU to take your plans and shove them..."

"Break it up, you two..." Paradim was distinctly unamused by the turn the conversation was taking. "I have one more matter to discuss. Our mainframe apparently was breached by a hacker of some sort. Do you two have anything to report about that?"

Frenzy looked surprised, but Hiss was quick to reply. "We have been unable to trace the intruder'sss location. He..."

"Or she." interjected Frenzy. "You don't know it's a male doing it."

Rolling his eyes, Hiss continued. "Or SHE... covered their trackssss very well. Apparently, nothing important was accessssssed."

"It was probably just some kid, nosing around." said Frenzy, shrugging off the report.

Hiss gave Frenzy a dirty look. "It could not have been 'sssssome kid'! Do you have no concept of the ssssecurity meassssures we impossse on our ssservers?!"

Paradim asked, calmly, "Then do you think it's Zulander?"

"Perhapssss...." said Hiss non-comitally. "He hassss never attempted ssssomething of this sssort before, though. It needs further invessstigation."

"Then investigate it." said LLP firmly, eyes narrowing.

"Yessss Ssssir."

"Good. You're both free to go." The President of RM Corp rose from his chair, and made his way to the elevator.

When he was long gone, Frenzy and Hiss were still in the office, looking at each other uneasily. Frenzy had always been somewhat repulsed by the doctor. Despite his brilliance and his general lack of morals (a trait she admired in a person), he was grotesque. She couldn't deny it. And she REALLY didn't like having him looking back at her. Finally, losing her cool, she snapped, "And just what's the matter with you, anyway?!"

Hiss was taken aback... but reacted in about the same manner. Snappishly. "ME?! I wassss about to assssk you the sssame thing!"

"Well, I'm not the one staring out windows and ignoring LLP!" She put her hands on her hips, and continued. "There's something you're holding back from us! What is it?"

Hiss's look became downright odd, and one of his eyes developed a slight twitch. "Wh... why would I be holding sssomething back?!"

"I don't know," said Frenzy with a nasty turn to her voice. "Why don't you tell me, hmm? Get it off your chest!"

"You are the lassst perssson I would EVER confide in, Frenzy!" snarled Hiss, quickly adding, "...n...not that I have anything to confide in the firssst place!"

"Uh huh..." said Frenzy with a skeptical raise of her eyebrow. "And I'm a greenbot."

Hiss gave her one last glare, and turned to leave. He wasn't going to waste his breath on Frenzy. And he most certainly wasn't going to tell her just what was distracting him so much. He'd never hear the end of it, then. With a hissed curse, he took the elevator out of the room, and returned to his office.

Frenzy shook her head in exasperation, and simply stood there. What WAS he hiding? And why was he so reluctant? If it was a new discovery, he would have been around, blabbering on to everyone about it in his enthusiasm. So what? What would make him distracted, and defensive? She pondered that as she walked slowly towards the elevator... and then it hit her like a load of bricks. "He's in LOVE with someone...?" And then, a shudder came to her. "Ew!" She most definitely felt sorry for the object of his affections....

  
  


The night passed, and as it tended to go in the mornings, the sun rose. Unfortunately, Amber was up to watch it rise. Despite her best efforts, and the guzzling of several glasses of warm milk, she couldn't make herself rest. So here she was, sitting in front of the window of her highrise apartment, enjoying nature's majesty as best as one can with a heavy load on one's concience.

"Amber?" ASCOT was quite alert as well, and sounded downright concerned. "You have only managed to aquire two and three quarter hours of rest. It would be wise for you to stop staring out the window, and go to bed."

"I triiiiiied going to bed...." she moaned in reply, hanging her head. "I can't SLEEP! It's the stress! I can't sleep when I'm stressed!"

"Then I suggest you eliminate the source of the stress, and make your decision."

"Easy for you to say...." It was whimpered, faintly. "I don't like any of the choices..."

ASCOT pondered that for a moment. "Then choose the one that you dislike the least."

Amber grew silent for a long while, considering her decisions. She knew for certain that she did not want to be embroiled in a plot for world domination. Her goals in life were simple, and didn't involve ruling things. On the other hand, quitting her job and going into hiding didn't appeal to her, either. It had been her dream to create and invent for a living... and ever since the RM Corp took an interest in her, she had been living that dream. Perhaps following Zulander's path? Fighting against them? ...what did she have to lose, now? Her dream had gone flat... and maybe, just maybe, she could meet up with Zulander himself. Maybe help him. Maybe she could continue her designing, too. She didn't have much in the line of combat skills, having taken a karate class and quit after three sessions due to frustration. But she did know her way around RM Corp. And she was sure she had the knowhow to put a little dent in their plans. Perhaps this was the least horrible choice. Sighing deeply, she turned around and looked over at ASCOT. "I've made my decision...."

"And that decision would be?" The AI sounded unmiffed by the fact that it had taken her a half hour to provide an answer. He had all the time in the world.

"I'm going to fight the Corp." It was said with a firm, decisive nod.

"I had figured you would make that choice in the end." ASCOT's voice had a hint of amusement in it. "So what will your first move be?"

"I.... I'm not really sure. I don't know." Amber ran a hand through her hair, and swallowed hard. "I... don't have to do anything right this instant, huh...?"

"Of course not. There is no need. In fact, it would be advisable to plan ahead before you attempt anything at all. You are in danger now."

"Right... right..." Squirming in her seat, it was a while before she could make herself reply again. "...I'd need to get my things from my workshop. But.. but not all of them! That would be suspicious. Just the good stuff. And... and we'd have to move. We can't stay here, the Corp knows that this is where I live! ...heck, everyone knows this is where I live!"

ASCOT paused for less than a second, before replying. "Hiding will be difficult. You would be wise to assume a new identity, and transfer your money to another account discreetly."

"Just how much is my balance right now, anyway...?"

"Your bank account is very well built up, and you can easily live off of it for a year, if you are thrifty. Though, the time will be reduced, depending on how much of it is spent on your fight." As always, ASCOT was logical about everything.

Amber nodded and took that in. "...do you think by then, I would be able to get in touch with Zulander?"

"The odds are in your favor. As you are both working towards the same cause, some overlap in activities will be inevitable."

"...then... I suppose I'm set." She sat up straighter. "...um, I guess I just need a first move to make." And silence fell upon the room. Neither the computer nor the inventor said a word.

After several minutes, ASCOT spoke up. "Are you waiting for me to suggest something?"

Amber blushed. "Um, it wouldn't hurt."

A smiley, rolling it's eyes, appeared on the computer monitor. "Only a day and a half old, and already you are growing dependant on me. You are perfectly intelligent. Trust yourself."

"But I've never DONE anything like this before!" she protested. "It's not like I had a 'Violent Rebellion 101' course at any point in my life!"

"You never let a lack of formal education stop you before. Are you just afraid?"

"....yeah. I'm afraid." Amber hunched over, eyes level and fixed upon the camera. "I could get killed. I don't want to die."

A question mark popped up on the screen. "Then why did you choose..."

But the AI was cut off. "...because I'd rather die than live with the alternatives. I have to do this. I have to!" Clenching her fists and gathering her courage, she stood. "...no one else can do it but me. I don't know what I'll do yet... but I'll think of something. I just have to get ready first."

The question mark faded, to be replaced with a smile. Fanfare blared on the speakers. "Congratulations. You have made your decision."

"...and nice use of the system sounds there, ASCOT." said the young scientist with a smirk.

"I use what I have been given. It is all in how you programmed me." There was almost a hint of pride in the statement.

"....speaking of that.... the Corp would give almost anything to take your code apart. You've really prepared for that?" Amber was quite worried... she was getting closer to the AI by the instant... and she had always been very protective of her creations.

"I have prepared for absolutely everything. My code is compact enough to be efficiently transfered from system to system. And I am capable of covering my tracks if need be. No matter what happens, I am capable of keeping myself free." It was all stated with complete and utter confidence. Logic dictated that he was infalible.

"Good.... I just hope you don't have to go hide too soon." Worry was dripping in Amber's voice. She knew if she was killed, ASCOT would be on his own... "....if they were to get a hold of you, what would you do?"

"If you mean the Corp... I have not decided." There was a pause... and then, a sort of sigh. "I am uncertain if I should delete myself, or alter my program so as to be useless to them." 

Amber's eyes grew slightly wider. "You'd kill yourself, essentially....?"

"If it would be for the best, yes."

She walked forward, and placed a hand atop the monitor. "I hope you don't have to do that."

"Neither do I. I do not like the prospect in the slightest."

Amber sighed. "ASCOT, I'd hug you right now if I could."

"Noted. I understand the sentiment behind it."


	3. Confusion

The story rolls on! Unfortunately, we've yet to get to any actual action, explosions, or anything particularly fascinating, but I'd still be greatly touched if you read this chapter anyhow. Give me as much feedback as possible! If Amber is a thinly veiled Mary Sue or some such thing, send a flame my way. The heat should get me working to improve the situation. ^_^

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The same day, at around 11 in the morning, a bleary Amber rode her motorcycle back to RM Corp, to arrange her things. She was supposed to be showing up for work, but in her mind, she had already quit. Only a few more days of playing the role, and she make a break and run. Parking her treasured machine, she staggered to the entrance and the nearest elevator. 

'This settles it. When I finish today, I'm going to go take a looooooong nap...' thought Amber to herself as she made her way down the hallways to her workshop. 'When planning acts of terrorism, it's best to be well rested...' Smirking slightly to herself, she swiped her ID card, scanned her hand, and walked into her workshop. What greeted her there was a surprise.

On her secondary workbench, amidst the chips and various parts, rested a vase of irridescent blue orchids. Most definitely not a regular fixture of the room. Staring openly, she walked over and let the door swish shut behind her. "ASCOT, you there?" Seeing that she recieved no answer, she backed up and flipped the on switch on her computer. Of course, he wouldn't be there if it wasn't on. Stupid.

As she waited for it to boot up, she returned to the other bench and studied the flowers. They were beautiful, that much could be said for them. Their scent was sweet, and they almost sparkled in the light. "Musta cost an arm and a leg...." she mumbled, gently looking through the flowers for a card or a note. Anything to reveal the identity of the giver. Nothing could be found.

ASCOT's voice broke in on her thoughts. "Very nice flowers, Amber. Did you buy them?"

Amber jumped slightly and turned, but shook her head when she realized it was just the AI. "You scared me! ...and no, I didn't! They were just here when I arrived!"

"That is unusual." he replied, sounding the smallest bit surprised. "Excuse me for a moment, will you?" With that, ASCOT fell silent.

Once again, Amber was left pondering the source of the flowers on her own. However, she did need to get some work done, so she started to clean her office while letting her thoughts wander. As she sorted bits and pieces into piles, and discarded old papers and wrappers, she couldn't keep the mystery of the flowers off her mind. Who would give her something like THAT? For that matter, who would be able to get into her workshop to put the flowers there? The place had some serious security measures imposed on it. The entire situation was strange...

Just then, ASCOT returned, with a bit of fanfare and some applause piped through the computer's sound system. "I have found something very... interesting, Amber!" There was genuine enthusiasm in the AI's simulated voice.

Amber flew over to stand in front of the monitor, looking just as enthusiastic. "What? What? What did you find? Is it about the flowers?!"

"Indeed it is. I reviewed the security tapes, and logs. Someone very....unexpected brought them in."

"Who, who?! Who did?!" The young inventor was practically jumping up and down in excitement. The mystery would be solved!

ASCOT didn't hesitate to demonstrate. A window popped up on the screen, showing the security footage. Though it was slightly blurred, the person delivering the flowers could easily be seen. Not to mention the person's form. It was completely unmistakeable; it was that of Dr. Hiss. "I told you that it was someone unexpected."

Amber was left gaping, staring at the video in shock. "He... he brought me flowers..? Why would he bring me flowers...?"

"I have no idea, Amber." said ASCOT flatly. "It is not something one would expect him to do, right?"

"Damn straight! He doesn't strike me as being a flower-giving person!" The young woman's gaze moved up to look into the camera. "Why would he do THAT?"

"I do not know. But normally, flowers are given as a sign of affection." the AI replied flatly.

"Affection?" Amber's voice took on a somewhat funny tone. "He can be affectionate?"

The footage ceased playing, and ASCOT's tone became irritated. "Amber, please stop acting silly. I knew this would be something unusual for you, but you are overreacting. This should not matter right now, as you are leaving the Corp. You are not supposed to have anything to do with him or anyone else any longer. Logically, a vase of flowers should not make a difference."

"Hey!" Sounding quite offended, she backed away from the computer. "I have a lot of things to think about! If he's got a crush on me or something, that sort of DOES affect things! At least a bit."

"And in what way would THAT be?" said ASCOT, a large dose of skepticisim added in his expression.

Amber didn't answer for a few moments, as she wasn't sure how. Getting frustrated, she grumbled, "Oh, I don't know... Maybe I could sue him? I don't know... but it does! Really!"

An unamused cartoonish face appeared on the screen. "Alright, fine. I see that I am unable to stop you from acting like this. For a genius, you are certainly not very sensible. If you will excuse me, I am going to finish transfering your funds and altering your records." The screen then went blank, as ASCOT went along his way.

Sighing, Amber flopped down in her chair. "...I had to program it to be snappy too, didn't I?" She shut her eyes and and rubbed her temples, trying to let her thoughts settle down, but they simply wouldn't. If it wasn't one strange thing, it was another. Her workplace was run by people with world domination on their minds, her greatest project ever worked entirely too perfectly, and her boss had a crush on her. Groaning, she ran her fingers through her hair. "No use moping..." Using all the willpower she had, she forced herself back up to her feet and continued to sort and pack.

  
  


Hiss felt like hurting something. Preferably the sneaky little annoyance that had broken into the Corp's computer systems. Yes, once he had discovered the guilty party, he would tie them to a table and have hot rivets driven into their body. And if it was Zulander... then it made that mental image all the more entertaining. Cackling slightly to himself, he plugged away at the search for a bit longer. However, even such inspiring thoughts could only carry a person so far. Not long after, the doctor simply threw his hands up in the air and stormed away from the keyboard, fed up beyond all belief. A nice strong cup of coffee would do him some good. With that on his mind, he left his workshop and headed for the nearest vending machine.

As Hiss limped his way down the corridor, his thoughts began to wander. First, to the upcoming production of Brain Grains. Everything should work just perfectly, everything should go off without a hitch. Maximum security restrictions were imposed. No two people were given the same story about the facilities. There was absolutely no way that Zulander could come and ruin things. And oh, when the production was finally done....

"Yeeeeeeek!"

The gleeful thoughts were immediately interupted as the Doctor found himself sprawled awkwardly on the floor, a wastebasket on his head. "What in the HELL isss the meaning of thissss?!"

His vision returned as the basket was pulled from his head by a very appolgetic Amber. "Oh, GOD, I'm sorry! I'm REALLY sorry! I'm really, REALLY sorry!" Shaking slightly, her voice caught. She'd just emptied a full garbage can on her boss. That was never a good thing. Wincing, Amber braced herself for being yelled at.

"Ahh...." Much to her surprise, it never came. Hiss was far too stunned to manage a full sentance, much less an entire tirade. He hadn't expected to run into her, and he most CERTAINLY hadn't expected another thing. She had tucked one of the blue orchids behind her ear. His thoughts circled in place like a hamster running on a wheel. So she recieved the flowers, but did that mean she liked them? If she was wearing one, she liked them, but did she know where they came from? If she knew where they came from, did that mean she liked HIM? No amount of trying to think logically could put an end to his hemming and hawing.

Luckily, for the sake of the story, Amber did it quite nicely with a few choice words. "Uh, sir... you have, um, a piece of gum stuck on your head...." She figured something needed to be said. Just what had him so tongue tied, though?

Hiss blinked, raised a hand, and plucked a large and sticky wad of gum from his bald noggin. Grimacing, he threw it to the ground with distaste. "I ssssee that." Still immensely displeased, he shifted on the ground and attempted to lift himself. It was far from easy. Though his artificial leg worked well enough when walking, it made most other activities a chore. But he would not ask for help. He had far too much pride for that. As far as he was concerned, he didn't require help.

Amber watched him struggle for a few moments, then set the garbage can down and offered him a hand. "Here, sir. Come on, get up, it's my fault...." There was a moment of hesitation, but Hiss reached out with his right hand and grasped Amber's tightly. For someone that seemed so frail, he had a lot of strength in his hand. Amber marveled, but not for too long. With a bit of pulling on her part, the scientist was back on his feet with a minimum of fuss. The instant she was free to do so, she picked the can back up and started to clean up the garbage that had spilled. "There we go. ...er... again, I'm REALLY sorry?"

"You sssSAID that already." Hiss brushed himself off, and grumbled softly to himself. He had more than enough composure, now. As he watched his employee scamper around picking up trash, he felt calm and collected. It was just a moment of being caught off guard. "Jusssst what are you doing hauling around trasssh, anyway?"

An answer was quickly given. "Oh... I needed to bring this home with me, so... I figured I'd empty it myself on the way out." It was fairly plausible, wasn't it?

Hiss narrowed an eye, and spat "Ssshouldn't you be doing ssssome actual DEVELOPMENT, Amber? There are other employeessss who take care of that!"

She blanched slightly, and mumbled a quick excuse. "...ASCOT's processing right now... I have a bit of time to kill... yeah. So I'm doing some cleaning. It's scary in there! Yep." It was punctuated with a laugh, as she hoped she hoped her tale wasn't blatantly transparent. Since all she recieved was a blink, Amber figured she was doing alright. "Well, I think I've got everything, so... I'll get out of your way." Holding the wastebasket tighter, she turned and started to walk off.

Shaking his head, Hiss turned to walk away as well. He still needed that cup of coffee. But before he even took his first step, he saw something blue and shining on the floor. The orchid that had been tucked behind Amber's ear. He paused, but then bent slowly and picked it up. "Amber!" As quickly as he could manage, he limped down the hall after her. "You... you dropped thissss."

Making a surprised noise, Amber turned. "Ah! ..ah, so I did. It must have fell when I was running around." Laughing softly, she reached out to take it, then tucked it back behind her ear. "Thank you!" She smiled a glowing smile, then turned and zipped off.

The Doctor was left standing there, hand still extended. "You... you're welcome." Once again, his thoughts took a circular route through his brain. He most DEFINITELY needed a cup of strong coffee now. Muttering softly to himself, he turned and limped away.


End file.
